Hilliard favourite for top DAA job

ONE MORE THING:WITH DUBLIN Airport Authority chief Declan Collier waiting to depart for London City airport, bookmaker Paddy Power has installed chief operating officer Bob Hilliard as the favourite to succeed him.

Hilliard is available at 3/1 followed by deputy chief executive Oliver Cussen at 4/1 and finance chief Ray Gray, who looks good value at 5/1. One internal candidate who doesn’t figure in the odds but might be worth a flutter is Jack McGowan, the head of duty free subsidiary Aer Rianta International.

External candidates can’t be ruled out but there’s unlikely to be a queue forming for a post that involves regular jousting with Ryanair and a reduced salary of €219,817 under new rules on pay for State bosses.

Collier’s 2010 package amounted to €612,500, including a salary of €308,500 and a bonus (that wasn’t paid) of €106,100.

Normally, the DAA’s chairman would play a key role in securing a new chief executive but that post is also vacant after David Dilger quit in May. Four non-executive directorships also need to be filled. Then there’s the issue around the separation of Cork and Shannon and a new voluntary redundancy programme is planned. Never a dull moment.